Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
  • C22C—ALLOYS
  • C22C49/00—Alloys containing metallic or non-metallic fibres or filaments
  • C22C49/14—Alloys containing metallic or non-metallic fibres or filaments characterised by the fibres or filaments
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C22—METALLURGY; FERROUS OR NON-FERROUS ALLOYS; TREATMENT OF ALLOYS OR NON-FERROUS METALS
  • C22C—ALLOYS
  • C22C47/00—Making alloys containing metallic or non-metallic fibres or filaments
  • C22C47/02—Pretreatment of the fibres or filaments
  • C22C47/04—Pretreatment of the fibres or filaments by coating, e.g. with a protective or activated covering
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B22—CASTING; POWDER METALLURGY
  • B22F—WORKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; MAKING METALLIC POWDER; APPARATUS OR DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR METALLIC POWDER
  • B22F2998/00—Supplementary information concerning processes or compositions relating to powder metallurgy
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
  • Y10T428/12—All metal or with adjacent metals
  • Y10T428/12486—Laterally noncoextensive components [e.g., embedded, etc.]

Definitions

• the present invention pertains to a method for the preparation of a fiber-reinforced metal composite material (hereinafter referred to as "FRM"). More particularly, it relates to a method for the preparation of FRM of fairly increased mechanical strength.
• FRM fiber-reinforced metal composite material
• FRM produced with the liquid phase method which makes the composite from a molten aluminum alloy and an inorganic fiber, has an advantage of lower productive cost through its simpler operations but has unfavorable difficulties in that the molten aluminum alloy and the inorganic fiber react at their interface so as to decrease the strength of FRM lower than the level necessary for the practical use.
• the method proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 134897/1977 comprises subjecting a formed product of FRM to treatment with a solid solution and quenching the thus treated product to provide FRM of remarkably enhanced mechanical properties.
• FRM of enchanced mechanical strength can be produced economically by combining an inorganic fiber of which the main component is alumina and the secondary component is silica with an aluminum alloy comprising at least one of Cu, Si, Mg and Zn at a temperature of not lower than the temperature where said aluminum alloy shows a liquid phase to make a composite, subjecting the composite to solid solution treatment and thereafter quenching the thus treated composite. It has also been found that when the composite is subjected to the solid solution treatment at a temperature of not lower than 400°C. quenched and then tempered at a temperature of from not lower than 100°C and not higher than 250°C, FRM of high shear strength can be produced.
• a main object of the present invention is to provide an economical method for the preparation of F RM of enchanced mechanical strength.
• Another object of the itven- tion is to provide an economical method of combining an inorganic fiber with an aluminum alloy comprising at least one of Cu, Si, Mg or Zn.
• the inorganic fiber is required to have a high mechanical strength. It is desirable not to react excessively with molten aluminum alloy on the contact thereto. The reaction at the interface between the fiber and the molten alloy is desired to proceed to a proper degree, thereby the mechanical strength is not deteriorated, but the transfer of stress through the interface can be attained to realize a reinforced effect sufficiently.
• One of the procedures to realize this is to cover the surface of the inorganic fiber with any substance so as to control the wettability or reactivity at the interface between the fiber and the matrix metal.
• the inorganic fiber there may be exemplified carbon fiber, silica fiber, silicon carbide fiber, boron fiber, alumina based fiber, etc.
• alumina based fiber Such fiber has many advantages; thus it has no doubt higher strength and, when contacted with molten aluminum alloy, the reaction takes place to a proper extent so that any material deterioration of the fiber strength is not produced and the transfer of stress through the interface between the fiber and the matrix is attained, whereby the reinforced effect can be sufficiently provided.
• This fiber also has a proper elasticity and therefore the breaking elongation is large; thus it shows a specific activity different from those of other fibers.
• the desired content of alumina as the main component in the fiber is from not less than 50 % by weight and not more than 99.5 % by weight.
• the alumina content is less than 50 % by weight, the specific property of the alumina based fiber is effected badly and besides the reaction between the fiber and the molten aluminum alloy at the interface takes place excessively to deteriorate the fiber, by which the strength of the composite material is decreased.
• the alumina content is.more than 99.5 % by weight, any substantial reaction between the fiber and the molten aluminum alloy does not take place and the transfer of stress can not be achieved.
• the alumina based fiber is desirably a fiber which does not substantially contain a-Al 2 0 3 .
• the alumina component in the fiber contains ⁇ -Al 2 O 3 , the fiber has a high elasticity but the grain boundary becomes fragile so that the strength of the fiber is weakened and the breaking elongation becomes smaller.
• the most suitable inorganic fiber is the alumina based fiber as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (examined) No. 13768/1976.
• alumina fiber is obtainable by admixing a polyaluminoxane having the structural units of the formula: wherein Y is at least one of an organic residue, a halogen atom and a hydroxyl group with at least one silicon-containing compound in such an amount that the silica content of the alumina fiber to be obtained becomes 28 % or less, spinning the resultant mixture and subjecting the obtained pre- cu :or fiber to calcination.
• the altnina fiber which has a silica content of 2 to 25 % by weight and which does not materially show the reflection of a-Al 2 0 3 in the X-ray structural analysis.
• the alumina fiber may contain one or more refractory compounds such as oxides of lithium, beryllium, boron, sodium, magnesium, silicon, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, titanium, chromium, manganese, yttrium, zirconium, lanthanum, tungsten and barium in such an amount that the effect of the invention is not substantially reduced.
• the amount of the inorganic fiber used for FRM is not specifically restricted insofar as a strengthened effect is produced.
• the density of the fiber can be suitably controlled to make infiltration of the molten matrix into the fiber bundles easier.
• the aluminum alloy usable in this invention may be a heat-treatable alloy of which the main component is aluminum and the secondary component is at least one of Cu, Mg, Sn and Zn.
• the secondary component is at least one of Cu, Mg, Sn and Zn.
• one or more elements chosen from Si, Fe, Cu, Ni, Sn, Mn, Pb, Mg, Zn, Zr, Ti, V, Na, Li, Sb, Sr and Cr may be contained as the third and/or further component(s).
• These alloys have a favorable character with which FRM can be effectively enhanced in mechanical strength such as shear strength, tensile strength and so on.
• the method of this invention can be applied effectively to any process for improvement of the mechanical strength of FRM as disclosed in Japanese Patent Applications N os. 105729/1970, 106154/1970, 52616/1971, 52617/1971, 52618/1971, 52620/1971, 52621/1971 and 52623/1971, where one or more additive elements in the matrix other than described above such as Bi, Cd, In, Ba, Ra, K, Cs, Rb or Fr are incorporated in aluminum alloys. With the incorporation of one or more of these additive elements, the tensile strength and flexural strength of FRM can be remarkably enhanced, whereby the effect of this invention can be realized clearly.
• the aluminum alloy can contain other elements in the amount which do not damage the effect of the invention.
• the conditions at the heat treatment may vary a.-cording to the species of the matrix used.
• a suitable temperature range is not higher than the temperature where the liquid phase of the alloy appears and not lower than the temperature where the segregation can diffuse; in other words, the solid dissolves into the base alloy comparatively earlier.
• the preferable temperature is not lower than 400°C and not lower than 430°C, respectively.
• the maximum temperature limit theoretically any temperature is available so far as the formed product of FRM does not deform.
• the most preferable temperature range is from 400°C to 540°C, and in case of Al-5 % by weight Mg, the range from 350°C to 440°C is the most preferable.
• the time necessary for the solid solution treatment depends on the temperature at the treatment and the size of the product. However, generally speaking, the most preferable time is about 1 hour to 30 hours.
• the quenching is conducted at the speed which is enough short not to allow the segregation once diffused into the base alloy to reprecipitate in a coarse precipitant.
• quenching can be conducted at a rate not less than 300°C/min from the temperature of the solid solution treatment to 200°C.
• some methods such as cooling .in water or oil, immersing in liquid nitrogen or air-cooling.
• a tempering operation after the quenching can be applied so far as it does not damage the reinforcing effect of this invention. Realistically, it is desirable to conduct the tempering at a temperature of not less than 100°C and not more than 250°C for a period of not less than 5 hours and not more than 30 hours.
• the matrix alloy itself can be naturally strengthened through solid dissolving of segregation once existed at the interface of the grain boundary into the a-phase but also the mechanical strength of FRM can be enhanced to from several times to several decades of the value estimated from the strength enhancement of the matrix alloy itself. This is inferred from the fact that some change or the like at the interface between the inorganic fiber and the matrix derived from the solid solution treatment and quenching contributes to the enhancement of the mechanical strength of FRM.
• the preparation of the composite material of the invention may be effected by various procedures such as liquid phase methods (e.g. liquid-metal infiltration method), solid phase methods (e.g. diffusion bonding), powdery metallurgy methods (sintering, welding), precipitation methods (e.g. melt spraying, electrodeposition, evaporation), plastic processing methods (e.g. extrusion, compression rolling) and squeeze casting methods in which the melted metal is directly contacted with the fiber.
• liquid phase methods e.g. liquid-metal infiltration method
• solid phase methods e.g. diffusion bonding
• powdery metallurgy methods e.g. melting, welding
• precipitation methods e.g. melt spraying, electrodeposition, evaporation
• plastic processing methods e.g. extrusion, compression rolling
• squeeze casting methods in which the melted metal is directly contacted with the fiber.
• the thus prepared composite material shows a remarkably enhanced mechanical strength such as tensile strength, flexural strength or shear strength in comparison with the system not conducted heat treatment of the invention. It is an extremely valuable merit of the invention in terms of commercial production that the processing of this FRM can be realized in a conventional manner by the utilization of usual equipments without any alteration.
• alumina based fiber having an average fiber diameter of 14 ⁇ m, a tensile strength of 150 kg/mm 2 and a Young's modulus of elasticity of 23,500 kg/mm 2 (A1 2 0 3 content, 85 %; Si0 2 content, 15 %) was filled up so as the fiber volume content (Vf) to be 50 %.
• 2024 aluminum alloy Al-4.5 % Cu-0.6 % Mn-1.5 % Mg
• 6061 aluminum alloy Al-0.6 % S i-0.25 % Cu-1.0 % Mg-0.20 % Cr
• 2024 aluminum alloy Al-4.5 % Cu-0.6 % Mn-1.5 % Mg
• 6061 aluminum alloy Al-0.6 % S i-0.25 % Cu-1.0 % Mg-0.20 % Cr
• the formed materials of FRM were released from the mold (hereinafter referred to as "F material"). Some parts of this formed materials were subjected to the solid solution treatment in the furnace at a temperature of 515°C for 10 hours and then introduced into water to be quenched. The thus obtained formed materials were subjected to determination of flexural strength. The results are shown in Table 1. It was observed that remarkable enhancement of flexural strength can be attained by the solid solution treatment of this invention.
• Alumina based fibers as used in Example 1 were formed with a sizing agent into a shape of 20 mm X 50 mm X 100 mm and Vf of 35 %. This formed product was introduced into the mold of a squeeze casting machine. The mold was heated up to 400°C to remove the sizing agent. A definite (Al-3.0 % Cu - 12.0 % Si) amount of molten aluminum alloy ADC-12/heated at 800°C was introduced into the mold, and a pressure of 1,000 kg/cm 2 was applied to infiltrate molten alloy into the fiber to provide a composite material. Half parts of these FRM were subjected to the solid solution treatment in a furnace of 500°C for 12 hours and then introduced to water to be quenched.
• FRM having Vf of 50 % was prepared by combining alumina based fibers as used in Example 1 with matrix metal AU5GT (Al-4.2 % Cu-0.36 % Si-0.23 % Mg-0.10 % Ti-0.01 % Zn-0.001 % B) and AA-7076 (Al-7.5 % Zn-0.6 % Cu-0.5 % Mn-1.6 % Mg) by the liquid infiltration method at a molten matrix temperature of 680°C under a pressure of 50 kg/mm 2 .
• the thus prepared FRM was subjected to the heat treatment as shown in Table 3.
• FRM was prepared just as in the same condition described as above with the exception of employing aluminum of purity 99.5 % and Al-7.5 % Mg as the matrix metal and also subjected to the heat treatment as shown in Table 3 for comparison.
• Matrix alloys were prepared by adding Ba in the amount of 0.3 % to AU5GT and AA-7076.
• FRM having Vf of 50 % was prepared by combining the thus prepared matrix alloys and alumina based fibers as used in Example 1 just as in the same manner as Example 1.
• the thus prepared formed products of FRM were subjected to the heat treatment and thereafter determination of shear strength and flexural strength.
• the results are shown in Table 4. It is recognized that FRM of remarkably enhanced flexural strength and balanced flexural strength with shear strength can be prepared with employment of matrix alloy containing small amount of Ba and the heat treatment of FRM.
• FRM having Vf of 50 % were prepared by combining carbon fiber having an average fiber diameter of 7.5 ⁇ m, a tensile strength of 300 kg/mm 2 or silicon fiber having an average fiber diameter of 15 ⁇ m, a tensile strength of 220 kg/mm 2 and a Young's modulus of elasticity of 20,000 kg/mm 2 respectively with AU5GT-0.3 % Ba or Al-0.3 % Ba alloy (both are aluminum alloy, the latter is used in terms of comparison) just as in the same manner as shown Example 3.
• the thus prepared formed products of FRM were subjected to solid solution treatment at 515°C during 10 hours, then thrown into water to be quenched, thereafter tempered at 160°C during 10 hours.

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• 1982
  • 1982-08-31 DE DE8282108013T patent/DE3268826D1/de not_active Expired
  • 1982-08-31 CA CA000410521A patent/CA1202553A/fr not_active Expired
  • 1982-08-31 US US06/413,253 patent/US4444603A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1982-08-31 EP EP82108013A patent/EP0074067B1/fr not_active Expired

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